Pi

There was a brief period in my life when I was obsessed with the
universal constant Pi just as much as Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) was
obsessed with finding the number that was the answer to the universe
in Pi. That period was during my last undergraduate
semester, where we devoted our efforts to estimating Pi to as many
digits as possible for our Numerical Analysis class, which culminated
in a conceptual painting about
the irrational.

Pi isn't about the mathematical constant
3.1415926..., representing, among many other things, the ratio of the
circumference of a circle to its diametre. The movie is about the
deranged and beautiful quest of one person in search of the truth, the
answer to the universe. The plot is a common one in science fiction: a
phenotypic "aberration" in the brain causes the protagonist to develop
special abilities that makes him sought after and feared. In this
particular cases, Max acquires a deep grasp of number theory. With his
assumptions, that mathematics is the universal language, that number
theory can represent everything in nature, and that there is a pattern
in everything that occurs in this universe, he sets about trying to
find it in the stock market.

After him are people who are interested in his stock market
analyses for monetary purposes, and more strangely, a group of Rabbis
who are convinced the same pattern of numbers is the key to their
salvation. However, Max is the only one who can understand the
semantics of the 216 digit number that is key to the universal lock, a
plot device that I thought was truly brilliant. In the end, Max
succeeds on his quest, but what he understands is never revealed to
us. What he sees however is catalyst enough for him to inflict a
lobotomy upon himself.

Today, many scientists (including myself) are on the same quest
that Max is, and most don't need to be as obsessed to find what
they're looking for. As demonstrated several times over the course of
humanity's existence, there is indeed an explanation for a lot of
things we see in nature. That is, at least a conceptual level, there
do exist patterns that can be written out as mathematical
equations. This is particularly true given the discoveries this
centuries involving relativity, quantum mechanics, and the subsequent
biological and computing revolutions. But the search for the Grand
Unified Theory continues.

Even though the movie isn't directly about Archimedes' constant,
Pi is indeed an excellent solution to Max's problem. That
constant is ubiquitous in our world today, popping up every so often,
in a seemingly independent manner. Besides its strong presence in
geometry, Pi appears in various equations throughout mathematics
(especially certain infinite series) and even in places where you
wouldn't necessarily expect it to at first intuition. For example, the
Buffon needle problem: what is the probability that a needle of length
1, thrown at random on a plane divided by parallel lines 1 unit apart,
will land in such a manner that it crosses a line (2/Pi)? What is the
probability that two integers chosen at random have a common factor
exceeding one (6/Pi^2)?

Unlike many independent films, Pi actually has a
fairly coherent, albeit obscure, plot. The cinematography is excellent
as well. Filmed completely in black and white, with obscure and
surreal settings, the movie tries very hard to brings the audience to
the edge of the abyss that is Max's mind. The acting by Sean Gullette
is highly convincing. The electronic music (courtesy of Clint Mansell
of Pop Will Eat Itself) is top-notch. The movie is definitely worth
the approximately Pi * e dollars I paid for it and I highly recommend
checking it out at a local independent theatre near you.